APPROVAL OF JOURNAL

The Faculty Senate Journal
for the regular session of February 13, 2012 was approved.

Remarks by Dr.
Glen D. Johnson Jr., Chancellor of the Oklahoma State System of Higher
Education

Chancellor Johnson noted that
he received a bachelor’s degree and law degree from OU and enjoyed the
opportunity to be on campus.

One of his focuses as the
spokesperson for the state system of higher education is funding.One month into the legislative session, he has
been playing defense.A bill was
proposed that would have moved the tuition-setting authority from the regents back
to the legislature.Until 2003, the
legislature set the tuition.Because of
his 14 years in the legislature, Chancellor Johnson believes the current
process is far preferable to the legislature setting tuition.The legislature never considered tuition in an
election year.It was not an objective
process or data driven process.The current
process provides input from students, faculty, and the administration to the state
regents.He was able to make the case in
the house committee for keeping the current process, and he was able to stop
the bill.Another bill, which was a
carryover from last year, would put all of the information technology and
related functions in higher education and state government under a chief information
officer (CIO).That would not work well
for higher education because the required authorization would cause slower
turnaround time, particularly for research grants. Input on the process for setting student technology
fees would go away.It would also cause
serious problems for the Weather Center and the Cancer Center, which are connected
to the national LambdaRail and Internet2.This last year the system had over $40
million in educational discounts for information technology.Mr. Johnson made the case to the governor
that if the goal was to save money, the system would save more money by not being
under the CIO.The bill has been re-introduced
again this year, but at this point it is stopped in the house.Another issue that has come up again for the
fifth year in a row would allow concealed weapons on college campuses.The Chancellor believes it would create a
dangerous environment for students and faculty.The legislation is stopped so far.A bill introduced by Rep. Holland that would have eliminated tenure in
higher education has been stopped.Chancellor
Johnson said that would have been poor public policy.Those are some of the matters he has been
wrestling with, when he would rather be working on budget issues, endowed
chairs, and ways higher education can help the state’s economy.

He said there seems to be a
growing effort to be critical of the mission and goals of higher education, not
just in Oklahoma but nationally.He put
together some information that he presented to the house and senate committees last
October in response to the assertions.President
Boren has been in the forefront with Chancellor Johnson and others in making
the case that the assertions are not correct.The main organization providing the criticism is the Oklahoma Council on
Public Affairs (OCPA).The council
questions the value of a college degree and the link between a college degree
and the strength of the state’s economy.OCPA also is trying to make the case that the salaries in higher
education are too high, there is little or no transparency or accountability,
and higher education is trying to get exemptions.Chancellor Johnson presented data to refute
each of those assertions.

OCPA complained about the
number of employees in higher education who were making over $100,000 a
year.As a percentage of the entire
system of higher education, those who make over $100,000 represent only 6.3
percent of the employees in higher education.Many positions are coaches or physicians paid out of non-state
appropriated funds.In the area of
transparency, to respond to the assertion that higher education is not
responsive to questions raised by the legislature, the Chancellor listed
everything his office provided to the legislature in terms of the key
indicators of accountability, including budget, graduation rates, enrollment
rates, and cost savings.In the area of
exemptions, the only exemption the system sought was to exempt higher education
from going under the CIO.The legislature
was given a report that documented the $40 million saved on information
technology related expenses.

OCPA also said state
appropriations to higher education had increased by $188 million over an
eight-year period, 2004-11, during a time when enrollment was flat.In actuality enrollment had increased by over
15,000 students during that period.It
is the largest historic enrollment increase in the history of the state
system.With that many more students, campuses
experienced increased costs due to the addition of course sections, addition of
faculty, and fixed costs.Of the $188
million increase asserted, $150 million was directly related to health care and
retirement.Another assertion was that
tuition in Oklahoma has skyrocketed.The
fact is we have made an extraordinary effort to keep tuition affordable.Among four-year institutions, Oklahoma ranks
as the 13th most affordable state in the U.S. in terms of tuition
and mandatory fees.Our two-year
colleges are in the top third in the nation in affordability.Tuition is never increased unless the student
governments, faculty senates and other groups have an opportunity to weigh in,
and the administration, presidents and governing boards make recommendations.The state regents held two days of hearings
to provide for additional input.Three
years ago, we were one of only two states in the nation to have no increase in tuition
and fees.In 2010 the increase was five
percent, and in 2011, 5.8 percent.The
system has tried to be sensitive to the needs of students and parents.A pertinent factor is the percentage of the
higher education budget paid by state appropriations has decreased from 75
percent in 1988 to 41 percent today.When that occurs, there are only so many options, with tuition and fees being
one option.The primary reasons for the
drop off are the increase in health care costs and Medicare during that time
and the dramatic increase in the cost of Corrections.Chancellor Johnson said he thought it made
more sense to place state resources on the front end in educating students than
putting them in the back end in Corrections.The third assertion that OCPA made is that colleges and universities really
have not had their budgets cut.Chancellor
Johnson has been making the case that cuts should not be across the board and
that higher education should be a priority.He has had some success but still, higher education was cut 1.05 percent
in FY09-10, 6.29 percent in FY10-11, and 5.8 percent in FY11-12.What some institutions have done is to
supplement their budgets by using private endowment dollars, dollars generated
by enrollment increases, money from auxiliary enterprises (vending and housing,
for example) and reserve funds, which are not state appropriated dollars.Another statement made by OCPA is only 40.5
percent of the total budget is spent on instruction.The accurate numbers show that for all three
tiers, over 62 percent of the budget goes directly to the academic enterprise. The other 38 percent goes to scholarships for
students, physical plant, administrative costs, and grants related to research.

In December, the state
Chamber of Commerce asked for a report that was prepared by the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce.The report rated our system in
Oklahoma as 8th in the nation in efficiency, 8th in
affordability, and 16th in job growth related to STEM (science,
technology, engineering, mathematics) disciplines.

Governor Fallin
announced in September a major college completion initiative called Complete
College America.It is being supported
by five national foundations.Oklahoma
is one of 29 states accepted to participate.Over the last few decades our nation has slipped from first to
fourteenth in the world in college completion.Last year our state produced over 30,500 degrees and certificates, and the
percentage of college degrees earned over the last decade increased by 27.4
percent.The initiative will focus on giving
students the tools to be college-ready by high school graduation.The state received its third national GEAR UP
grant, over $80 million total, which focuses on preparing high school students
for success in college.To give adults
the opportunity to go back and get their degree, each institution put together
programs with face-to-face and online instruction.We have over 70,000 individuals in the state with
72 hours or more towards their degree but do not have their degree.Institutions will have the opportunity to
receive additional funds if they increase their retention rates and ultimately
their graduation rates.The goal is 1700
additional degrees and certificates each year for the next 12 years.That would represent a 67 percent increase
and take us from 30,500 to 50,900 degrees produced.The Chancellor made it clear to the governor
and legislature that higher education is up to the task but would need the
resources to do it.

One of the areas that OCPA
raised was that common education and higher education have little or no collaboration
or partnering.Chancellor Johnson noted
that higher education partners with common education in a variety of way,
including GEAR UP, teacher education, summer academies, and concurrent
enrollment.The office of the state
regents has been publishing information on its web site that provides average
salary information for various fields in order to show the value of a college
degree.Over a one-year period, an
individual with a bachelor’s degree will earn on average $28,000 more than
someone with a high school diploma.During
periods of unemployment, the person with a college degree will be less likely
to experience unemployment and will be more likely to have health
insurance.Over a career, a person with
a bachelor’s degree will earn on average $1 million more than a high school
graduate.Chancellor Johnson said he
would submit that the income is not even the most important reason to get a
degree.In answer to the assertion that academic
programs remain on the books and are never deleted, he pointed out that an
average of 24 programs are deleted a year.Data from the Employment Security Commission this past September show
that one year after graduation 89 percent of our graduates remained in the state
and had jobs.Those data refute the
allegation that graduates have to leave the state to find employment.Higher education is intimately involved with
the STEM initiative through EPSCoR, endowed chairs, research
initiatives, summer science and math academies, and other areas.

The buzzword at the Capitol
is how much have you saved.The state
system has saved over $347 million over the last four years.The cost savings have been in energy conservation,
early retirement options, and purchasing contracts.Most of the cost savings are in the areas of personnel
and utilities. In the area of research
and grantsmanship, Oklahoma’s college and
universities received $612 million in competitive grants in 2010.OU generated about 40 percent of the total.The budget request for 2013 is for $34
million in new money, which represents a 3.7 percent increase.The bulk is for fixed costs, including health
care, retirement, utilities, supplies, information technology equipment,
library periodicals, and scholarships.

Oklahoma
ranks 50th in the nation in the number of physicians per capita.To address
that situation, higher education has made a separate request to provide
additional funding for the OU and OSU medical schools and scholarships for
pre-med academic disciplines throughout the state system.In the endowed chairs program, 22
institutions and branch campuses have 749 accounts awaiting
funding.Two years ago, the legislature
came up with $100 million to fund the program.The Chancellor’s office has made a proposal to the legislature to address
the remaining $279 million backlog with a bond issue over a five-year period.In addition, requests were made for section 13 money for repair, renovation and maintenance on the
campuses and for full funding of scholarships for the concurrent enrollment
program for high school students.

Chancellor Johnson said it
was important for the Faculty Senate to know that its state system will be
responding directly and accurately when information is brought to the governor,
legislature, and media and will tell the story the right way.As the legislature has limited resources, it
is his job to make the case that higher education’s cut should be less than
other areas of state government.The
pitch this year is higher education should be at the top of the list if there
are increases in the budget.It is the
best investment the state can make and will define the future direction of our
state.

Prof. Taylor asked for more
information about the Oklahoma Council on Public Affairs.Chancellor Johnson said it is a non-profit, private
group that provides information and takes positions on issues.In this legislative session, it has been the
lead advocate for the reduction in the state income tax.It is funded privately and organized for the
purpose of providing a particular viewpoint to public policy leaders and others.Provost Mergler added that a national group
works with some of these specific groups.Chancellor Johnson said they receive funding from national think tanks
that share the same philosophy.

Prof. Bergey asked whether
fees were included in the tuition numbers mentioned in his report.Chancellor Johnson answered that all of the
numbers include tuition and mandatory fees.He said even though it has been hard in Oklahoma, there are only a few
places nationally where it is more affordable.Prof. Soreghan asked whether tuition and fees were waived for high
school students concurrently enrolled in college.Chancellor Johnson explained that the
legislature appropriates money for scholarships for high school students who take
courses for college credit.Tuition is
not waived.The money comes from funds
that the legislature provides to defray tuition costs.The legislature did not provide scholarships
for concurrent enrollment until about four years ago.Since they have, the program has taken
off.This last year, over 56,000 credit
hours were generated.In closing
Chancellor Johnson said that there are times when it is helpful to have the
faculty weigh in on the issues raised at the Capitol.He encouraged the faculty to coordinate with Vice
President for Governmental Relations Danny Hilliard.Faculty input is valuable.He said he appreciates the great job the faculty
does with the students.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Tribute to the Faculty
will be Thursday, April 5, at 3:00 p.m. in the Sandy Bell Gallery of the Fred
Jones Jr. Museum of Art.

Faculty nominations for
councils, committees, and boards originally were due to the Faculty Senate
office by March 9.Prof. Kosmopoulou noted
that the deadline for committee nominations had been extended until March 14. Chair-Elect Michael Bemben pointed out that volunteers
were needed for the Retirement Plans Management Committee (RPMC).Faculty who serve on the RPMC should be knowledgeable in investing for retirement and/or financial
planning, interested in monitoring and understanding performance of the markets
in general and mutual funds in the OU plan in particular, and understand administrative and investment fees paid from plan
assets, including those charged directly to participants, to make sure they are
at the lowest reasonable levels.Faculty
members who have expertise in those areas should submit their names to Ms.
Fallgatter.Prof. Moses, who is on the
committee, said the purpose of the committee is to make sure the retirement
plan for OU is as good as it can be.It
is chaired by Chief Financial Officer Chris Kuwitzky.Ms. Fallgatter added that three faculty
members are on the committee, and one is rotating off this summer.Prof. Hahn asked whether the faculty was notified
about the committee vacancy. Prof.
Kosmopoulou replied that it was included in the general call for nominations
for committees.

The Big Event, a student-run
community service effort, will be held on April 14.Faculty members may volunteer as individuals
or in groups.For more information, see http://bigevent.ou.edu/website/.

The Faculty Senate is sad to
report the death of retired faculty members DraganMilivojevic (Modern Languages, Literatures &
Linguistics) on February 24 and Chip Stuart (Educational Leadership &
Policy Studies) on March 1.

March 30 is the 70th
anniversary of the first meeting of the Faculty Senate.

The faculty is invited to
attend the Health Sciences Center Distinguished Speaker Lecture on April 11,
6:30-7:30 p.m.David Pogue will speak on
“Disruptive Technology in Healthcare and Higher Education” (see http://www.ou.edu/admin/facsen/David Pogue.pdf).The
presentation will be held in Allied Health Building 1117 at the OUHSC and also
will be simulcast to the Perkins auditorium at OU-Tulsa and DEH 151 on the
Norman campus.

BICYCLE FRIENDLY UNIVERSITY

The Faculty Senate’s Faculty
Welfare Committee proposed a resolution requesting the University to develop a
plan to attain recognition as a Bicycle Friendly University by the League of
American Bicyclists (attached).Prof. Palmer asked whether the bike league
spells out what it means to be bicycle friendly.Prof. Moses said the league has a lot of
information on its web site:http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bicyclefriendlyamerica/bicyclefriendlyuniversity/faq.php.It is more
than having bike paths; it also is about making the campus a place where someone
would feel welcome to bicycle.The
league looks at elements such as infrastructure, encouragement, and education
for cyclists.

Prof. Moses moved to amend
the last sentence to move “within the next 5 years” after “recognition” to make
it clear that the intent is to develop a plan to attain recognition with the
next five year rather than develop a plan over the next five years.Prof. Devegowda suggested adding language
about coordinating with the city’s bicycle plans and accommodating bicycles on
buses.He noted that crossing certain
streets is dangerous on a bike.Prof. Bemben
pointed out that the university and city groups have been meeting
together.Prof. Moses said the said
University developed a draft bicycle plan and is trying to integrate it with
the Norman bicycle plan.He said he will
try to add some language about coordinating with the city and being able to put
a bike on a bus.

SENATE CHAIR'S REPORT, by Prof. Georgia
Kosmopoulou

“The first piece
of information comes from HR and relates to OTRS. Pending approval from the
legislature, OTRS is moving now to proportional service credit for employees
who work less than full time or less than the entire contract year. If
approved, this new policy will be in effect on or after July, 1, 2013. Note that the fractional service credit for
employees who work less than the contract year would not impact 9-month full-time
faculty.

“As you know, due
to pressure from legislators and in an effort to increase efficient use of
existing resources at difficult budgetary times, the University introduced a
recommendation for a revised teaching workload policy. President Boren encouraged us to participate
in the formulation and articulation of the policy and welcomed our input on the
drafted guidelines. Following recent
meetings with the President and the Provost and discussions with faculty, the
executive committee worked on a modified document that embraces the idea of
providing clear, objective and reasonable metrics to govern teaching workloads
and at the same time addresses important issues that were brought up by many of
you. Those modifications introduced are
mainly there to recognize explicitly in the document that there are differences
in the efficient operation of departments within and even more so across
colleges. The President had a very
positive first response to the draft.He
was happy with the outcome of our effort and promised to get back with remarks
after he gets a chance to have a closer look and receive feedback from the
Provost and other administrators.

“At our meeting
with the President we also discussed the new proposed plan for retiree medical
benefits. We proposed an amendment to
the current plan that would reward employees for loyalty and encourage prudent
consumption. In particular, we suggested
full coverage of premiums for employees with 25 years of service who begin
participating at age 62. Being aware of the budgetary issues the University is
facing, we proposed to phase in a deductible starting in 2014. The President
promised to look into this request.”Prof. Nelson asked whether the intent was it would apply to employees
with at least 25 years of
service.Prof. Kosmopoulou said that was
correct.

“Finally, the
President of UOSA Hannah Morris invited the Faculty Senate members to the State
of the UOSA Address. It will be held on
Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. If
you are interested in attending, please contact Hannah at uosapres@ou.edu.”

EARLY PROGRESS REPORTS

Prof. Minter said his
colleagues were concerned about the early mid-term progress reports, in
particular, what the reason was for the reports and why instructors had to turn
them in so early.Prof. Kosmopoulou asked
whether it was a matter of not having enough grades at that point.Prof. Apanasov said he gives mid-term exams
after Spring Break, but the reports are due before that.Prof. Kosmopoulou said she would look into
the history of the issue and report back.Prof. Morvant said the timing might have to do with giving students the
early progress reports before they have to make a decision about dropping a
course at the tenth week.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 4:30
p.m.The next regular session of the
Faculty Senate will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, April 9, 2012, in
Jacobson Faculty Hall 102.